The present invention relates to methods of making metal spheres. In particular, the present invention relates to making metal spheres from molten metal, such that the solid metal spheres achieve a very close tolerance for sphericity and size. Such metal spheres, particularly precision miniature metal spheres, have many industrial applications. For example, such spheres may be used to form Ball Grid Array (BGA) and Flip Chip (FC) arrangements in high-density integrated circuit packaging, and are also used as writing tips of ball pens.
Conventionally, small precision metal spheres are made using a mechanical process by which a number of small metal particles are cut or punched out from fine wire or sheets. Those particles are then dropped into a tank of hot oil having a temperature that is higher than that of the melting point of the particles. In this hot oil bath, all the metal particles are melted, forming small round droplets due to surface tension of the molten metal. As the temperature of the oil cools down to below the melting point of the metal droplets, the droplets solidify into spheres. This mechanical method has intrinsic limitations that result in coarse dimensional tolerances, because each mechanical operation adds a certain amount of deviation to the size and uniformity of the particles, which together produce an unacceptable cumulative effect. Therefore, spheres are not precisely made according to this process. Further, the resulting spheres must undergo a sophisticated washing process to get rid of the oil and other surface contaminants.
Over the past two decades, many methods have been developed for generating precision molten droplets to improve the dimensional tolerances of the spheres. These new methods commonly utilize a crucible in which to melt the metal, and then cause the molten metal to flow out of the crucible through a small nozzle. Droplets are formed by shaking either the crucible or the nozzle, or by oscillating inlet gas to affect the pressure on the molten metal in the crucible. These types of vibratory disturbances that are used to generate the droplets are typically controlled by some electronic means. Due to the surface tension of the molten metal droplets, they automatically form a spherical shape while passing through a cooling medium after passing through the nozzle. However, the parameters of those processes and the environmental conditions of the electronic droplet generators are critical to the uniformity of the output. In many cases, these processes can only reach a quasi-steady-state, which limits the production throughput as well as the quality of the resulting spheres.
There is therefore a need for a process for forming metal spheres by which tolerances on the size and shape of the spheres can be kept small. Such a process must allow for a reasonable throughput and processing of the spheres such as by washing and other finishing actions should be kept to a minimum. In order to be truly useful, such a process must relatively simple, requiring few controls of parameters of the process.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a process by which precision metal spheres may be formed.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a process by which the degree of deviation from a perfect spherical shape of the metal spheres can be minimized.
It is an additional objective of the present invention to provide a process by which the size of the metal spheres can be determined within a small tolerance.
It is also an objective of the present invention to provide a process by which metal spheres are formed such that the metal spheres require less post-formation cleaning than do conventionally-produced metal spheres.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a process by which fewer parameters must be controlled than when utilizing conventional processes.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a process by which throughput of the metal spheres is not hampered by the precision achieved in the finished product.
It is also an objective of the present invention to provide an apparatus that facilitates the process of the present invention.
The present invention is a method of forming metal spheres from molten metal in which precisely-sized droplets of the molten metal are separated from a metal mass to form the metal spheres. The droplets of the molten metal are first projected in an upward direction and buffered prior to descending through a cooling medium. Through the use of inlet gas and liquid, the cooling medium is controlled for precision solidification of the metal spheres. The solid spheres enter a liquid bath in a collection receptacle at the end of the cooling process, where they are automatically collected and separated from the liquid, which is returned to the collection receptacle for reuse.
Instead of disturbing the steady flow of the molten metal stream to create droplets, the method of the present invention utilizes a fast vibratory piston to strike each individual droplet out through a nozzle. Driven in this manner, the droplets can be shot initially upward through a cooling medium and spend more time passing through the medium before solidification of each droplet begins. Thus, a shorter cooling tower can be used, thereby saving costs related to the height of the manufacturing room, as well as reducing the amount of coolant required during the solidification process. As the piston slams a stopper or withdraws its direction of motion quickly, the resulting sudden impact transfers the energy at the piston to the molten metal and creates a droplet that shoots out through the nozzle. Control of the striking force of the piston against the stopper, and knowledge of the size of the aperture in the nozzle, allow droplets of molten metal having precisely-controlled volumes to be separated from the molten metal mass and propelled through the cooling medium, allowing for the formation of spheres of uniform size.
The structure of the apparatus of the present invention includes a buffering chamber that is designed to provide the cooling droplets with enough time to allow the internal energy to settle down before final formation and solidification. The kinetic energy within a molten droplet is usually higher than its surface tension energy right after the droplet changes dynamically in this fashion, and therefore the droplet does not acquire a spherical shape until a large percentage of this internal kinetic energy is released. When the surface tension of a droplet dominates the internal kinetic energy as the molten metal cools, the shape of the droplet becomes spherical automatically. As previously stated, the molten metal droplets are first propelled in an upward direction in the chamber, before being overcome by gravity and allowed to fall back downward. This buffering chamber has a heating system that controls the temperature of the gas inside the chamber to prevent the droplets from solidifying before the shape of the sphere is mature. The gas used is preferably an inert gas such as nitrogen, or a mixture of nitrogen and hydrogen. The temperature inside the chamber is determined empirically, depending on certain properties of the molten droplets. Typically, this temperature falls in the range between 0xc2x0 C. and 100xc2x0 C., depending on the size and material of the droplets.
A gas screen gate is disposed beneath the buffering chamber. This gate is a large hollow disc with two openings, one each at the centers of both top and bottom faces of the circular disc. One or more fans are disposed inside the disc along the edge of the disc wall. The fan blows in a direction tangential to the circular wall, causing the gas within the disc to flow in a circular direction within the hollow interior of the disc. This movement creates a gas barrier that slows down the heat exchange rate between the buffer chamber and the top end of the cooling tower, so that the droplets do not experience quick cooling while still in the buffering chamber. The two openings in the gate allow the droplets to pass out of the buffering chamber under the force of gravity.
Below the gas gate, a number of cooling drums are connected in a stack to form a cooling tower. Each drum has two sections formed by coaxial cylinders. The inner section of the drum is a cylinder having an open top and bottom so that the falling droplets can pass through. An outer shell forms a container with the cylindrical wall of the inner section, and is used to hold coolant or other low temperature agent such as liquid nitrogen. There are two small inlet pipes connected to the outer container of the drum. One is used to provide coolant to the outer container, and the other is used to blow a cold agent or low temperature gas around the inner section when rapid cooling is required. There are a number of small openings around the top part of the wall separating the inner section from the outer shell, to relieve pressure on the cylindrical walls and provide a passage for additional inert gas to be provided to the cooling tower.
At the bottom of the cooling tower, there is a funnel shaped collector. The collector has an outer hollow shell that is pumped into vacuum to provide good thermal insulation. The collector is filled with a liquid cooling agent such as Hexane, which has a melting point of about xe2x88x92100xc2x0 C. The liquid agent also serves to provide a low-impact medium that stops the falling metal spheres. At the termination of the collector, there is a collecting container used to collect the mixture of solidified spheres and cooling liquid. This mixture is pumped up to above the liquid level of the collector and then flows downward into the collecting container, in which is placed a fine mash basket. The container has a pipe at the bottom end to allow the liquid to flow back to the collector after the mesh basket catches the metal spheres. The spheres that are trapped in the mesh basket can then be collected, such as by picking them out through the top opening of the container. The container opening has a gas-tight door, and the feedback pipe has a valve to prevent backflow.
In summary, a method of forming metal spheres according to the present invention includes ejecting a precisely measured droplet of molten metal from a molten metal mass, buffering the molten metal droplet to reduce the internal kinetic energy of the droplet without solidifying the droplet and cooling the buffered droplet until the droplet solidifies in the form of a metal sphere. The method may also include collecting the metal sphere.
Ejecting a droplet of molten metal may include disposing the molten metal mass in a fixed volume, providing an aperture as an outlet to the fixed volume, striking the molten metal mass with an impulse force and allowing the impulse force to propagate through the molten metal mass to cause a droplet of the molten metal mass to be ejected through the aperture. Preferably, the droplet is ejected in a generally upward direction.
Buffering the molten metal droplet may include cooling the droplet to an extent that is less than is necessary to cause the droplet to solidify, and allowing internal kinetic energy of the droplet to diminish. Further, buffering the molten metal droplet may include allowing the ejected droplet to ascend to a maximum height, and then allowing the droplet to descend through a medium having a temperature that is controlled such that the droplet is cooled but not allowed to solidify.
Cooling the buffered droplet may include allowing the droplet to descend through a medium having a temperature that is controlled to cool the droplet.
Collecting the metal sphere may include immersing the metal sphere in a liquid, and separating the metal sphere from the liquid. Separating the metal sphere from the liquid may include depositing the liquid and the metal sphere in a container having drainage holes that are smaller than the metal sphere, and draining the liquid from the container through the drainage holes.
An apparatus for fabricating metal spheres according to the present invention includes a droplet generator that generates a droplet from a molten metal mass, a buffering chamber that receives the droplet from the droplet generator, and diminishes internal kinetic energy of the droplet without solidifying the droplet, and a cooling drum that receives the droplet from the buffering chamber, and cools the droplet to the extent that the droplet solidifies into a metal sphere. The apparatus may further include a collector arrangement that receives the metal spheres from the cooling drum and makes the metal sphere available for collection.
The droplet generator may include a receptacle in which the molten metal mass is contained, wherein the receptacle includes a plurality of walls and a tube, an aperture through a first wall of the plurality of walls of the receptacle, and a piston disposed within the tube and forming a substantially fluid-tight seal with the tube. A reciprocating motion of the piston within the tube changes pressure of the molten metal mass, and an impulse force imparted by the piston on the molten metal mass within the receptacle causes a portion of the molten metal mass to eject through the aperture as a droplet. The droplet generator may also include a feed tube extending outward from the aperture; the piston abuts the first wall at an end of the reciprocating motion such that the piston closes off the aperture from the inside of the receptacle and forces a droplet of molten metal out of the feed tube. The droplet generator may be positioned such that the droplet is ejected in an upward trajectory.
The buffering chamber may include an enclosed volume having a height sufficient to allow the ejected droplet to reach a maximum unimpeded height in the upward trajectory. The buffering chamber may include an enclosed volume containing a gaseous medium, and a temperature control system that controls the temperature of the gaseous medium. The enclosed volume may include a bottom end having an opening for receiving the droplet as it descends after reaching the maximum unimpeded height in the upward trajectory.
The cooling drum may include a first cylinder, having an open top end and an open bottom end and surrounding a gaseous medium, a second cylinder; coaxial with the first cylinder and surrounding the first cylinder, and having a top end that is closed around the top end of the first cylinder, and a bottom end that is closed around the bottom end of the first cylinder, forming a reservoir between the first and second cylinders, and a system for controlling the temperature of the gaseous medium.
The system for controlling the temperature of the gaseous medium may include a first fluid inlet, disposed in an outer wall of the second cylinder, that receives a first fluid to be stored in the reservoir, and a second fluid inlet, disposed in the outer wall of the second cylinder, for receiving a second fluid to be dispersed within the first fluid in the reservoir. The system may also include a dispersal tube, connected to the second fluid inlet and surrounding the first cylinder within the reservoir, that receives the second fluid through the second fluid inlet, wherein the dispersal tube includes a plurality of holes through which the second fluid is dispersed within the first fluid. Preferably, the dispersal tube is a circular closed loop for receiving the second fluid from the second fluid inlet and for dispersing the second fluid into the first fluid, within the reservoir around the first cylinder, through the plurality of holes.
The apparatus may also include a gas screen disposed between the buffering chamber and the cooling drum, which provides temperature separation between respective media in the buffering chamber and the cooling drum. The gas screen may include a hollow disk having a top face with an opening for receiving the droplet from the buffering chamber, a bottom face with an opening for providing the droplet to the cooling drum, and circular outer wall connecting the top and bottom faces, and a fan, disposed within the hollow disk and positioned such that it blows a fluid medium within the hollow disk in a direction that is tangential to the outer wall.
The collector arrangement may include a reservoir that holds a liquid into which the metal sphere falls after passing through the cooling drum, a pipe, connected to a bottom end of the reservoir and in fluid communication with the reservoir, that receives the metal sphere and a volume of the liquid from the reservoir, and a delivery system that delivers the metal sphere to a collection basket. The reservoir may have lower sides that slope toward an opening in the pipe. The pipe may be an elbow joint having a bend in which the metal sphere settles. The delivery system may be a pump that pumps the metal sphere and the volume of the liquid to the collection basket, and the collection basket may be located at a level that is higher than a level of the liquid in the reservoir. The collector arrangement may include a holding tank in which the collection basket is disposed, and the collection basket has openings that are smaller than the metal sphere, through which the volume of liquid pass. The collector arrangement may include a return channel, in fluid communication between the holding tank and the reservoir, by which liquid passing through the openings in the collection basket is returned to the reservoir.
The cooling drum may be a plurality of cooling drums, including a first cooling drum, disposed to receive the droplet from the buffering chamber, and a last cooling drum, disposed to provide the metal sphere to the collector arrangement.